The Deep Geologic Repository Project (DGR) was a proposal by Ontario Power Generation (OPG) in 2002 for the site preparation, construction, operation, decommissioning and abandonment of a deep geological radioactive waste disposal facility for low and intermediate-level radioactive waste (L&ILW). In 2005, the municipality of Kincardine, Ontario volunteered to host the facility located on the Bruce nuclear generating station adjacent to OPG's Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF). The facility would have managed L&ILW produced from the continued operation of OPG-owned nuclear generating stations at the Bruce, Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and Darlington Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario. In May 2020, after 15 years of environmental assessment, OPG withdrew its application for a construction license on Saugeen Ojibway Nation Territory.
Overview Since 1974 Ontario Power Generation has stored low and intermediate-level waste (L&ILW) produced in its nuclear reactors at the Bruce, Pickering, and Darlington sites centrally on the Bruce nuclear site in its Western Waste Management Facility (WWMF). The proposed project was to store about 200,000 cubic meters of L&ILW from the operation of these three OPG-owned nuclear sites, about 90% of which would be low-level waste.
The proposed project was divided into two phases - pre-closure and post-closure periods. The pre-closure period would have lasted about 60 years and would have included site preparation and construction, operations, and decommissioning. The post-closure period would have included a period of institutional control followed by abandonment forever.
Low-level waste, which can be handled without special radiation protection, consists of materials such as mop heads, rags, paper towels, floor sweepings, and protective clothing used in nuclear stations during routine operation and maintenance. Intermediate level waste consists of non-fuel waste containing significant quantities of long-lived radionuclides. This includes materials such as used reactor core components, refurbishment wastes, ion-exchange resins and filters used to purify reactor water systems, and used reactor components such as pressure tubes. Intermediate-level waste cannot be handled without radiation protection measures. Much of the waste that would be placed in the DGR is already stored at the WWMF in engineered storage structures. The DGR would not house used nuclear fuel.
History and Conceptualization
Government Policies
In April 2001, the Canadian federal government introduced an Act regarding the long-term management of nuclear fuel waste. Also known as the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act, this legislation came into effect on November 15, 2002. However, this legislation dealt only with the long-term management of used nuclear fuel (high-level waste), not L&ILW.
OPG stated that the introduction of the Nuclear Fuel Waste Act prompted the Municipality of Kincardine to initiate discussions with OPG regarding the long-term management of the L&ILW stored at the WWMF, which was only considered an interim waste management solution. Under the 1996 Government of Canada's Radioactive Waste Policy Framework, OPG was responsible to implement a long-term solution for managing its L&ILW. This includes the funding, organization, management, operation and disposal of waste, as well as responsibility over any other facilities required for their waste.
Location and Site Selection
The proposed DGR was to be located below ground, constructed in low-permeability limestone capped by 200 meters of low-permeability shale, which had remained stable for more than 450 million years. OPG states that the limestone is stable and predictable, with excellent isolating capabilities. The site is proposed to be constructed 1.2 kilometers from Lake Huron below the shelf of the lake which is connected to the Great Lakes Basin. The Basin is a drinking source for more than 40 million people in Canada and the United States.
Willing Host - Kincardine, Ontario
In 2002, the Municipality of Kincardine and OPG signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The purpose of the MOU was to set out terms under which OPG, in consultation with the Municipality of Kincardine, would develop a plan for the long-term management of L&ILW at the WWMF. As part of the MOU-related activities, Golder Associates, on behalf of OPG and the Ministry of Kincardine, conducted an Independent Assessment Study of three long-term waste management options: enhanced processing and surface storage, surface concrete vaults, and deep rock vaults. The study, published in 2004, included technical feasibility and socio-economic impacts, as well as a review of international practices for waste management. The assessment found that all three long-term management options were technically feasible and could be safely constructed and operated at the WWMF, and that no clear preference for any of the three options had been identified in public attitude and tourism research. Ultimately, the Municipality of Kincardine identified a deep geologic repository as its preferred option for the long-term management of L&ILW, and endorsed the project on April 21, 2004.
As the willing host for the project, the Municipality of Kincardine and adjacent municipalities would have received financial benefits and payments from OPG including: A one-time lump-sum payment to the Kincardine and the adjacent municipalities of $2.1 million, and an additional $1.6 million for only Kincardine, for future undetermined community projects, paid once the OPG was satisfied that there was a clear mandate from the population of Kincardine to the Kincardine Council in favour of the DGR. A further payment of $2.1 million to Kincardine and the Adjacent Municipalities within 90 days of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) granting a construction license to OPG, provided that OPG was satisfied that there were no other approvals required to construct the DGR and that there was no legal basis for the challenge of a construction license. Annual payments of $1.05 million to Kincardine and the adjacent municipalities. The Municipality of Kincardine also passed a resolution stipulating that no used fuel would be placed in the repository.
On February 1, 2020, members of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation "overwhelmingly" voted to reject the proposal to construct a deep geologic repository at the Bruce nuclear power plant, "likely spelling an end" for the project in the vicinity of Kincardine.
Process Environmental Assessment
After the signing of the Hosting Agreement between OPG and the Municipality of Kincardine, the Environmental Assessment process for the project got underway by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency. The process was initiated by OPG submitting a proposal to prepare a site and build a DGR in December 2005. Under the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, approval for the project is required from the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), who is the body responsible for the regulation of nuclear facilities in Canada. The request for CNSC approval triggered the requirement for a federal environmental assessment under sections 5 and 7 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA, 1999).SC 1999, c. 37 The project was listed under Part VI, section 19(g)(iii) of the Comprehensive Study List Regulations, and the CNSC, the responsible authority under CEAA, 1999 in relation to the project, recommended that the Minister of the Environment refer the environmental assessment to a review panel.SOR/94-638
In June, 2007, the environmental minister announced the decision to refer the environmental assessment of the DGR project to a joint review panel. Following a 75-day public comment period, the Government of Canada issued Guidelines for the Preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement for the DGR for L&ILW (EIS Guidelines) and the Agreement to Establish a Joint Review Panel for the DGR by OPG within the Municipality of Kincardine (Panel Agreement) on January 26, 2009. The EIS Guidelines outlined the minimum information requirements for the EIS to be prepared by OPG to allow the detailed analysis of the potential environmental effects of the project. The EIS Guidelines also listed the requirements for the Licence to Prepare Site and Construct. The Panel Agreement outlined how the Panel would function and included the Panel Terms of Reference for the environmental assessment and the consideration of the licence application. OPG submitted its EIS in 2011.
Establishment of the Joint Review Panel, 2012-2015
On January 24, 2012, the Joint Review Panel was established by the Minister of the Environment and the President of the CNSC under CEAA, 1999 and the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to undertake the review of the project. The Panel is both a Review Panel pursuant to sections 40, 41, and 42 of CEAA, 1999 for the purposes of carrying out an environmental assessment of the project, and a Panel of the commission, created pursuant to section 22 of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act, for the purposes of the review of the licence application under section 24 of the Nuclear Safety Control Act. When the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 came into effect in July, 2012, the federal Minister of the Environment and the President of the CNSC amended the Panel Agreement, confirming that the project review was to continue under the new legislation.SC 2012, c. 19, s. 52
Under the Terms of Reference for the review panel, the Panel was to obtain all of the information it required in order to prepare its report to the Minister of the Environment. In doing this, the Panel encouraged participation of government agencies, members of the public, and Aboriginal groups throughout the process. Participants had the opportunity to comment and provide their views to the Panel on whether the EIS and license application documents from OPG adequately addressed the requirements set out in the EIS Guidelines issued to OPG by the federal government. Throughout the process, public hearings were held in both Kincardine and Saugeen Shores, Ontario, and public comments were accepted online through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry. Funding was given to participants through CEAA's Participant Funding Program, giving groups the opportunity to have their comments heard throughout the process. The Panel also issued a total of 515 requests for additional information to OPG in order to obtain information requirement to meet the requirements of the EIS Guidelines. The Joint Review Panel published their 450-page Environmental Assessment Report endorsing the DGR project proposal on May 6, 2015. The Panel report, which was delivered to the Minister of the Environment, summarized the information received by the Panel, including comments from participants, and the Panel's conclusions related to the purpose, need and alternatives; design features and project development; waste management; effects on the natural environment; effects on human health and safety; malfunctions, accidents, and malevolent acts; social and economic aspects; Aboriginal interests, rights, and title; post-closure safety case; Lake Huron and the Great Lakes; and cumulative effects. The Panel concluded that the project was not likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects, taking into account the implementation of the mitigation measures committed to by OPG together with the mitigation measures recommended by the Panel.
Request for Additional Information, 2016